Lithuania plans to spend more than 1 billion euros on purchasing weapons from the US and Germany over the next couple of years, the Defence Ministry says.
The United States and Germany are the main sellers of weapons for the Lithuanian military, which has spent 0.5 billion euros on purchases from the US and almost 1 billion euros from Germany over the last several years.
As Lithuania is increasing its defence spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic country plans to launch procurement procedures in the near future and spend more than 1 billion euros until 2027.
“Upon and during the implementation of the national defence upgrade program, we will increase the capabilities of the Lithuanian military as well as the country’s defensibility. In parallel, the presence of allied forces in Lithuania will be expanded,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said in a statement.
Equipment acquired from “strategic partners” will modernize Lithuania’s armed forces, bolstering their maneuver and firepower, air defence and air surveillance, anti-tank, military intelligence, logistics and military medical capabilities, the ministry said.
Lithuania is also buying equipment and machinery from Germany to beef up the Land Force’s maneuver and firepower. For this purpose, Vilnius is purchasing infantry fighting vehicles Vilkas (Wolf) and pursuing a project for self-propelled howitzers PzH2000.
Two additional Land Force battalions will be equipped with German armoured platforms.
According to the statement, Germany remains a key partner in strengthening the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ logistical capabilities. A project for the acquisition of 10-ton trucks will be launched shortly.
To bolster anti-tank defense, Switchblade combat drone systems will be purchased from the United States, and they will allow destroying the opponent’s armoured fighting vehicles at a range of 40 km. Additional purchases will include Javelin medium-range anti-tank systems, new radars, four UH-60M multi-purpose helicopters and armoured all-terrain vehicles and drones. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
